Graveside service for 1SG (Retired) Jose A. Mercado, 82, Lawton, will be 1:00 p.m. Monday, November 17, 2014, at Fort Sill National Cemetery, Elgin, with Dave Dugan officiating. Mr. Mercado died Wednesday, November 12, 2014, at his home in Lawton. Inurnment with full military honors will be under the direction of Becker-Rabon Funeral Home. He was born March 13, 1932 in Los Angeles, Puerto Rico, to Francisco and Esther Maria (Santiago) Mercado. He graduate from Utado High School in Puerto Rico and later earned his Bachelor of Science in Business from Cameron University in May of 1984. He married Wilfriede J. Mehner on February 14, 1958 in Germany. . He left Puerto Rico in 1951 to serve in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict and left the military to return home to complete school. He returned to the military in December 1954 and served in the U.S. Army until his retirement as a First Sergeant in 1973. He was a veteran of Korea and Vietnam. His awards include the Korean Service Medal with two bronze stars, United Nations Service Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, National Defense Service Medal with first Oak Leaf Cluster, Good Conduct Medal (4 awards), Vietnam Service Medal, Achievement Medal, Bronze Star Medal, four Overseas Service Bars, six Service Stripes, Expert Rifle M-14, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal (3 awards) Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Medal Unit Citation and the Korean Presidential Unit Citation. Upon his retirement from the military he attended plumbing school and after graduation he was licensed as a plumbing contractor and started Lawton plumbing and heating. In 1973 he was hired as the senior plumbing inspector by the City of Lawton. In May 1977 he was appointed Building and Safety Supervisor for the City of Lawton and held that position until his retirement in March of 1994. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Wilfriede, of the home; two daughters, Amanda McKay and husband Richard, Caledonia, New York, and Gloria Mercado and fiancé Tom Lovett, Lawton; a son, Joe A. Mercado and wife, Sylvia, Azle, Texas; four grandchildren, Ricky McKay, Caledonia, New York, Joseph Mercado and wife Ashley, Collinsville, Mississippi, Steven Mercado and wife Kristin, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Yvonne Garrett, Lawton; five great grandsons; two brothers, Raul and Johnny Mercado; a sister, Judith Mercado; four half sisters and one half brother. Two sisters, a half brother, two half sisters and his parents preceded him in death. Memorial contributions may be made to ASPCA, P.O. Box 96929, Washington, DC 20077-7127, Aspire Hospice, 7205 W. Gore Blvd, Lawton OK 73505 or to the Lawton Humane Society, P.O. Box 3134, Lawton OK 73502.